S 2536 United States Senate · 119th Congress

Safeguarding American Tourism Act

This bill exempts large cruise ships (with 800+ passenger berths) from certain U.S. maritime regulations when transporting passengers between U.S. ports, either directly or via foreign ports. Specifically, it removes requirements under the Passenger Vessel Safety Act (PVSA), the Jones Act, and crew citizenship rules for these vessels. The key provision creates a consistent exemption for qualifying large passenger vessels operating domestic U.S. routes, streamlining compliance for cruise operators. The bill does not change other applicable laws, as clarified in its final rule of construction.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jul 2025
Committee Review
Floor Vote
President
Introduced Jul 30, 2025 Last action Jul 30, 2025
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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
2
Key actions
0
Committee
1
Jul 30, 2025
Committee
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
upper
Jul 30, 2025
Introduced
Introduced in Senate
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Mike Lee
Mike Lee
RRepublican
UT
n/a